Personal cleansing articles have traditionally been marketed in a variety of forms such as bar soaps, creams, lotions, and gels. These cleansing formulations have attempted to satisfy a number of criteria to be acceptable to consumers. These criteria include cleansing effectiveness, skin feel, mildness to skin, hair, and ocular mucosae, and lather volume. Ideal personal cleansers should gently cleanse the skin or hair, cause little or no irritation, and not leave the skin or hair overly dry after frequent use.
However, these traditional forms of personal cleansing articles have the inherent problem of balancing cleansing efficacy against delivering a conditioning benefit. One solution to this problem is to use separate cleansing and conditioning articles. However, this is not always convenient or practical and many consumers would prefer to use a single article which can both cleanse and condition the skin or hair. In a typical cleansing composition the conditioning ingredients are difficult to formulate because many conditioners are incompatible with the surfactants, resulting in an undesirable non-homogenous mixture. To obtain a homogeneous mixture with conditioning ingredients, and to prevent the loss of conditioning ingredients before deposition, additional ingredients, e.g. emulsifiers, thickeners, and gellants are often added to suspend the conditioning ingredients within the surfactant mixture. This results in an aesthetically pleasing homogenous mixture, but often results in poor deposition of conditioning ingredients, because the conditioners are emulsified and not efficiently released during cleansing. Also, many conditioning agents have the disadvantage of suppressing lather generation. Lather suppression is a problem because many consumers seek cleansing articles that provide a rich, creamy, and generous lather.
Therefore, it is seen that conventional cleansing articles which attempt to combine surfactants and conditioning ingredients suffer from disadvantages inherently resulting from the incompatibilities of surfactants and conditioners. A need clearly exists to develop cleansing systems which provide effective cleansing and yet consistently provide sufficient conditioning in a single article.
It is also highly desirable to deliver cleansing and conditioning benefits from a disposable, single use article. Disposable articles are convenient because they obviate the need to carry cumbersome bottles, bars, jars, tubes, and other forms of both cleansing and conditioning articles. Disposable articles are also a more sanitary alternative to the use of a sponge, washcloth, or other cleansing implement intended for multiple reuse, because such implements develop bacterial growth, unpleasant odors, and other undesirable characteristics related to repeated use.
In addition, consumer habits of using disposable articles having two surfaces vary considerably. When preparing to use such articles, consumers will generally wet the article and then "lather" it before contacting the article with their skin or hair. "Lathering" is achieved by rubbing the surfaces of the article on or against each other prior to use of the article. If the surface containing the conditioning agents is first used in lathering and the same surface is then used to contact the skin or hair, deposition of the conditioning agents is considerably decreased due to emulsification of the conditioning agents by the surfactant. If, however, the surface not containing the conditioning agents (e.g., a surfactant-containing surface) is rubbed together to produce the lather and the surface containing the conditioning agents is then used to contact the skin or hair, maximum deposition of conditioning agents is achieved. If both surfaces of the article are treated with the conditioning agents, the same inconsistent deposition can result. Maximum deposition of conditioning agents would result only if a non-lathered surface containing conditioning agents is contacted with the skin or hair.
It has been surprisingly found that if the conditioning component (the combination of the conditioning agents) has a minimum lipid hardness value of 0.02 kg., this inconsistent deposition of conditioning agents is considerably diminished. It is believed that increasing conditioning component hardness decreases transfer within the substrate and also decreases emulsification of the conditioning agents by the surfactants during the lathering step. As a result, more of the conditioning agents remain available for mechanical transfer via contact with the skin or hair.
It is also highly desirable to provide a cleansing and conditioning article having the qualities of a washcloth. These desirable features can be realized in disposable articles by providing proper texture, thickness (caliper), and bulk (volume per unit weight). A relatively high value of texture is desirable for aiding in cleansing of skin and hair. Relatively high values of caliper and bulk are desirable for providing volume in the article for receiving and containing liquids. Typically, such washcloth-like articles have a substrate which includes one or more materials or layers. The substrate can be pre-moistened with a wetting agent prior to use, or alternatively, can be combined with a liquid at the point of use of the article. Pre-moistened wiping articles are also referred to as "wet wipes" and "towelettes."
One method of imparting texture and bulk to a washcloth-like article is by combining layers of plies having different properties. U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,735 issued Sep. 4, 1984 to Trokhan discloses a multiple ply tissue paper article having a wet microcontracted constraining paper ply and a dry creped constrained paper ply. Portions of the constrained ply are adhered to the constraining ply. When the multiple ply article is wetted, unadhered portions of the constrained ply pucker in the Z-direction to provide texture and bulk.
While the structure in U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,735 provides the advantage of texture and bulk upon wetting, it requires the use of wet microcontraction procedures on a paper machine in order to prepare such structures. Further, the structures in the '735 patent have reported wet calipers (thickness) which are lower than the corresponding dry calipers.
It has been surprisingly found in the present invention that articles can be developed to provide effective cleansing and consistent conditioning in a convenient, inexpensive, and sanitary disposable personal cleansing article having the desirable properties of a washcloth. The present invention provides the convenience of not needing to use both a separate cleansing and conditioning article. The present invention is highly convenient to use because it is in the form of a substantially dry article that is wetted before use.
The present invention relates to a dry, disposable, personal cleansing article useful for both cleansing and conditioning the skin or hair. These articles are used by the consumer by wetting the dry article with water. The article consists of a water insoluble substrate having at least a portion that is wet extensible, a lathering surfactant, and preferably a conditioning component having a lipid hardness value of at least 0.02 kg. Without being limited by theory, it is believed that the substrate enhances lathering at low surfactant levels, increases cleansing and exfoliation, and optimizes delivery and consistent deposition of the conditioning ingredients. It is also believed that having a conditioning component lipid hardness value of at least 0.02 kg. provides greater efficient and consistent deposition of conditioning agents to the skin or hair. As a result, this invention provides effective cleansing using low, and hence less irritating, levels of surfactant while providing superior conditioning benefits in a consistent and efficient manner. It has also been found that these articles are useful for delivering a wide range of active ingredients to the skin or hair during the cleansing process.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide substantially dry washcloth-like articles for both cleansing conditioning the skin or hair wherein the articles are used in combination with water.
It is another object of the present invention to provide articles comprising a water insoluble substrate, a surfactant, and a conditioning component having a lipid hardness value of at least 0.02 kg.
It is another object of the present invention to provide articles which are disposable and intended for single use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide articles which are mild to the skin or hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide articles which, upon wetting, are capable of generating an Average Lather Volume of greater than or equal to about 30 ml.
It is another object of the present invention to provide articles useful for delivering active ingredients to the skin or hair during the cleansing and conditioning process.
It is another object of the present invention to provide articles which consistently deposit the conditioning component and other active ingredients onto the skin or hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods of cleansing and consistently conditioning the skin or hair.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods of consistently providing deposition of the conditioning agents and other active ingredients.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods of manufacturing the articles of the present invention.
It is another an object of the present invention to provide a disposable cleansing and conditioning articles which exhibits increased texture and bulk upon wetting.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable cleansing and conditioning article having a wet caliper greater than the dry caliper of the article.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable cleansing and conditioning article having an apertured paper layer which is foreshortened, and which provides increased texture and bulk upon wetting.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent in light of the following disclosure.